Owners of business start-ups should 'think big'

Date: 30th November 2009

People thinking about starting their own businesses have been advised by an expert to "think big" and to "move fast" to take advantage of opportunities.

Julie Meyer, star of Dragons' Den Online, said that budding entrepreneurs should show ambition if they wish to become successful.

The comments follow the release of research from Enterprise UK, showing that 17 per cent of adults - or six million people - want to start their own business.

According to the report, 49 per cent of this group retain these ambitions, despite the impact of the credit crunch and the recession.

Ms Meyer said: "If you ever stop thinking big as an entrepreneur, it's kind of game over. That’s your job as an entrepreneur: to continue to get out there and to think big, think past the what ifs, the why nots and why hasn't it happened yets."

She added: "[Entrepreneurs] need to start small. Not only because the market conditions of today are not ones in which you can spend a lot of money."

Ms Meyer made the comments at last week's Business Startup show, held at London Olympia.

Posted by Thomas Fletcher